175.8

So, long story short, I'm back at my lowest weight... which means anything from here on is real progress. You spend the first week or so catching back up to what you put back on after your last round. I have a theory on that too... I think you fill up your intestines with about 4-5lbs of food/gross stuff after you come off HCG. You try to maintain your weight, but in the end, I think you're guaranteed to put on 4-5lbs. This last time, I put on more than that. Shame on me... but we only look forward, not backwards. I maintained my weight pretty well at 185ish. Now it's the long haul. I'm in it. I got this.

(Plus, I put a dent in my pretty new car, and I could really use that biggest loser money to fix it.)

I'm thinking that my ultimate goal is 140. Again, I'll look at where I'm at when I hit it, and evaluate what needs to happen for my health, not my appearance. However, I'm not changing my ticker until I hit 170... because I want to see it... and facebook it... and post it all over everything.

A little over 5lbs to go!

176.0 ish

I was down to 175.something, but I'm kind of at the stop/go point, and I wasn't drinking enough water. I've drank a ton of water today... so HA.

I'll let you know how that works out for me.

176.6 or 8... or something

Had my final exams for my first summer session today.... wasn't exactly concerned about what the scale said this morning. :)

177.8

Just FYI.

In 2.8 pounds, I can start playing with my ticker again. :)

Apparently, it works- 179.something

I got up to 188.8 (I think, it may have been a little higher than that... I'll have to log it all on here at some point) during my "gorge days". To be honest, I didn't gorge nearly as much as I used to, and I haven't had any problems. Day 3 (or Hell Day, as I like to call it) is usually the worst. Typically, I plan on staying in bed all day that day. It was fine this time. No big deal.

I'm exhausted- emotionally and physically- but the emotional exhaustion comes from the physical. I realized today that I live my life in 8 hour shifts. The first 8 hours is driving to school, attending class, driving home, and eating a quick lunch. The second is work. The third is sleep. Honestly though, It's uncommon to get 8 hours of sleep. The process of settling down and getting ready for bed, and then the process of waking up (which starts about 0700) cuts out at least an hour and a half of my sleep.

All of that rambling is to say: "I'm exhausted"

Supposedly, you lose more weight when you sleep regularly/enough- which is part of why I chose to go ahead and do this round. I get to sleep every night at the same time right now. That will change at the end of the summer when I go back to my normal shift, but right now, I'm sleeping regularly, even if it isn't enough.

Final weigh in for biggest loser is July 6th. I'm expecting everyone to pig out on the 4th. I won't have a problem with it. This game is mental, and I have a strong brain. My official weigh in for the contest was 193. I'm already down 14lbs. Keep this up, and I'll win it. I got this.

I really believe that I can do anything (within reason) for 40 days.

Vibrationally Charged HCG

Alrighty, so I've been doing a crap ton of research on homeopathic HCG, and I have decided that I don't really trust it. HCG used to work, until the FDA started regulating it. I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but I do believe in HCG, and I have no idea why they would screw with a good thing. Maybe something about it before the FDA was different, even though it was homeopathic, maybe I didn't take homeopathic HCG. Honestly, I don't remember what the bottle said.

My basic and biased conclusions (once again, my disclaimer: I am not a doctor.):

Homeopathic HCG is diluted to the point that it is unidentifiable underneath a microscope. I do not believe/understand how your body could recognize and use something so insignificant. Homeopathic HCG defines anything diluted by "3X6X12X" or more. 3X means that the HCG has been diluted 3000 times.

Injection HCG, although the most potent, is only available through prescription, and has worse possible side effects. Completely disregarding my fear of needles, injections have risk of infections and blood clots, and you become immune to the HCG much faster. Also, it's incredibly expensive, and you have to visit your doctor all the time. I actually asked my doctor about it, and he refused to prescribe it for me... which is cool, cause I don't do needles anyway.

Vibrational HCG is (as far as I can tell), homeopathic HCG, but way less diluted. The dilution level is 1X. That seems like a lot still, but Simeons said only a minimal amount of HCG was needed, so as long as vibrationally charged HCG still has microscopically recognizable HCG in it, I'm content. (I typed this paragraph before I read what "Vibrationally Charged" means. Essentially, it means that they have "taken the chemical energy of HCG and transferred it into a vegetable glycerin."

I'm still googling, and still learning. The funny thing about the internet is that although there is now a world of information at our fingertips, we cannot usually guarantee the accuracy. Honestly, I kind of feel like it may be a load of hooey too, but I'm optimistic.

I read this and found the below info. I think they use a bunch of big words to throw you off. I'm still not sure it's the same thing, but the website this came from said there are two studies (which they link to) that are double blind with vibrational HCG vs a a placebo.

1.       The direct vibrational charge ("vibrational signature") of 1x diluted, pharmaceutical-grade Human Chorionic Gonadotrophin (HCG) is acquired.
2.       A substrate composed of pure, all-natural, 100% Kosher, USP food grade vegetable glycerine (defined as a tri-polar glycerol) is also acquired.
3.       Using radionic imprinting, the in-phase energetic frequency of the HCG is captured and infused (electrochemically bonded) into the glycerine (see the video here for more details).
4.       Thyroid-stimulating ionic iodine is layered into the blend at a 4000X concentration.
5.       Botanical raw extracts which boost energy and suppress appetite and sugar cravings are layered into the blend. Included are the following:

·         Hoodia Cactus Leaf/Stem (Hoodia gordonii): Appetite suppressor. Excellent weight loss support herb. Used by the San tribe in Africa to suppress appetite while sustaining energy levels.

·         Guarana’ Seed (Paullinia cupana): Strong adrenal stimulant. Natural caffeine content helps increases mental alertness, endurance stimulant, reduce tension headaches.

·         Gymnema Leaf (Gymnema sylvestre) Ayurvedic herb: Makes sugar tasteless, aids insulin production, lowers blood sugars for insulin-challenged individuals.

·         Kelp Thallus (Laminaria digitata): Thyroid stimulant. High in iodine, trace minerals, important minerals like calcium, iron, vitamin C factors, and proteins; helps to reduce oversized thyroid and lymph nodes.

·         Bladderwrack Thallus (Fucus vesiculosus): Thyroid stimulant. High in iodine, trace minerals, important minerals like calcium, iron, vitamin C factors, and proteins; helps to reduce oversized thyroid and lymph nodes.

·         Fennel Seed (Foeniculum vulgare): Reduces gas and abdominal pain, reduces appetite cravings.

·         Gravel Root (Eupatorium purpureum): Diuretic, clears urinary/kidney tract obstructions and inflammations.

·         Black Walnut Hull (Juglans nigra): A high source of iodine and silica, and one of the best known of all anti-parasite detoxifying herbs.

·         Uva-ursi Leaf (Arctostaphylos uva ursi): Strong anti-bacterial and diuretic action that clears and cools kidney/urinary tract inflammations and obstructions.

·         Senna Leaf (Cassia angustifolia): Stimulating laxative action, reduces constipation, cleansing and detoxifying action.

Oh well.... I guess we'll see. :)

Just an Update

I'm staying steady around 183 or so. I went out of town with my parents, and when I came home, I was up to 193, but that came off pretty quickly. I'm considering doing a round of HCG after this semester is over. It would probably do some good.

In my world, maintaining my weight is as big of an accomplishment as losing weight. I can't get down when I haven't lost weight in a while. I'm proud of myself. One step at a time.

I realized some things while I was with my parents on the road. My habits have changed... completely. I have so much more respect for my body now. I have learned to listen to it. Let me explain:

When we used to go out of town, every time we stopped at a gas station, I would eat. I'm not talking about eating a sandwich or a yogurt or something. We would eat at least a candy bar and drink a coke every single time we stopped. Think about it, if you stop 3 times on an 8 hour trip, that's around 1500 calories. That's just not necessary. Get a water. Get a diet coke if you need some flavor. Grab one snack between the 3 times you stop, or bring fruits to snack on. I'm very careful about the amounts/types of sugars that I put into my body.

Another biggie- I don't eat fried crap. I grew up on oil, salt, sugar, and grease. I couldn't tell you the last time that I had a fast food burger. Sometimes, we have burgers at home, but I cook them on my Forman. When we stopped at Popeyes, I had a 2 piece chicken meal, so I'm not flawless, but when we stopped the next day at Bojangles, I had a salad instead. I say all the time, I didn't get fat from eating fried chicken. I got fat from eating 3+servings of fried chicken in one sitting."

We went to a fish fry when we got to my grandpa's house, and it was set up as a buffet. I had 2 pieces of chicken, some hush puppies, and an apple fritter thing. When I finished, my grandpa told me to go get more, and I told him I was done. Let me just say, that's almost offensive in the south, but I'm not eating 3 plates of food to make someone else happy.

I've still got work to do, but I've come a long way, and sometimes, I forget that.





Other health matters (warning: Gyno crap)-

Colposcopy came back bad, and I had to have a LEEP procedure. Long story short, they cut off a chunk of my cervix with an electric wire. They said they got it all. I have to go back in 2 months for a shot, a month after that for another pap, 3 months after that for another shot and another pap around the same time. Thank God for insurance.

When the nurse lady called to say I had to have a LEEP, her exact words were, "Mild Dysplacia." When the official stuff showed up on my online account, it said, "Severely abnormal cells." That's not the same thing. What the hell does severely abnormal mean? My dysplacia was designated as "mild", why are my abnormal cells "severe"?????